Having a sister can sometimes feel like less of a blessing and more of a curse because no one knows how to get under your skin quite like she can. If we're being honest, she's pretty much a pro at it.
But if you look past all the pointless bickering, cold-shoulders, and venomous insults, you'll realize that life is just better with your sister around. And as it turns out, scientists agree.
According to the study, which was published in Science Daily, your sister can have a supremely positive effect on your overall well-being. Whether she's younger, older, or in my case, the same age, she helps protect you from feeling lonely, unloved, guilty, self-conscious, and fearful.
So maybe you should remember that next time you slam a door in her face, hmm?
The team collected information about each family’s dynamic, then followed up one year later to confirm their results. After that, the scientists conducted a statistical analysis on the data to see if they could find any patterns and they certainly found some, particularly when it comes to sisters.
“What we know suggests that sisters play a role in promoting positive mental health, and later in life they often do more to keep families in contact with one another after the parents pass," Alex Jensen, assistant professor in the School of Family Life at BYU, told Motherly.
I know, I too was surprised.
As researchers explained, it all has to do with sibling affection. Having a loving sibling of either gender, no matter the age gap, promoted good deeds.
"For parents of younger kids, the message is to encourage sibling affection," said study lead author and BYU professor Padilla-Walker. "Once they get to adolescence, it's going to be a big protective factor."
Especially our sisters. Sure they steal our clothes and tell on us and eat our leftovers and change the channel without asking and tell us how we really look in those new jeans and —
Where was I going with this again? Oh right. Despite all of that, they're way more beneficial to our mental health than we ever realized. So forgive, forget, and try to remember how blessed you apparently are next time she does something that really sets you off.
h/t: Science Daily, Motherly
